Two Can Keep a Secret
by thelittlemarieantoinette
Summary: Prompt from the Closer Fic Fest; 104 Sharon/Fritz - it's thrilling keeping a secret from Brenda


This is my second and final prompt from the Closer Fic Fest. I've been a fan of this pairing for a while and have always noticed the lack of fanfictions for them, however the few that there is are all wonderful. So when I was given the chance to tackle this pairing, I thought 'Why not?'.

Prompt - Sharon/Fritz - it's thrilling keeping a secret from Brenda

* * *

**Two Can Keep a Secret**

It had started unintentionally. Like all great things.

A simple talk over an early morning coffee to discuss Brenda's case hadlead to a series of events that had change Fritz's life in more ways than one.

"Who is it, Fritzi?" Brenda asked curiously, placing a hand on either side of her hips.

'_Just out of the shower, how does a morning coffee sound?'_ Fritz glanced down as the phone illuminated to display the latest message. Brenda watched on as the entire man's posture changed. His shoulders dropped, relaxing almost instantly and there seemed to be a new sense of life about him.

"Who is it?" Brenda repeated, applying one last dose of hair spray to her blonde curls, allowing the heavy aroma to fill the room. "Just a spam email" Fritz replied, brushing off her question with a steady tone as he headed out of the bedroom, his eyes glued to the iPhone in his hands as he attempted to conceal the smirk that found its way to his lips as he forced the mental image out of his head. He wouldn't make it through the day with a straight face if he had images like that rolling around his head.

It didn't take a detective to figure out that the message was certainly _not_ a spam email.

Ever since they had gotten married, everything was about Brenda. If it wasn't her work then it was the lawsuit, and if it wasn't the lawsuit then it was her parents. He felt as though he had nothing truly for himself.

Except his secret.

Sharon.

It was thrilling to keep a secret from Brenda.

Arriving in the kitchen, Fritz leaned against the counter top as he waited for the kettle to boil. _'Let me pick them up today, I owe you one anyway. The usual? I'll drop it by the office.' _He read over the text message once more before hitting the send button, looking up as his wife appeared at the kitchen door, just as the post box at the front door was lifted, the array of letters falling to the floor with a small ruffle. "I'll go and fetch that" He declared, dropping his phone down onto the marble worktop.

As Fritz went down the hallway to get the post, Brenda couldn't help but chance a glance at the man's phone as it 'dinged' on the counter top, shaking slightly as the screen bounced to life._ 'See you then, x' _Her eyes filled with confusion as she looked from the text message to the sender.

Who on Earth was S.R?

If Brenda knew anything, it was that women never ended their text messages with an 'x' if they were nothing more than an innocent co-worker. Placing her glasses on the edge of her nose, she read over the text message to make sure it wasn't a simple case of her eyesight playing up on her. Wishful thinking

Fritz wasn't...no, surely he wasn't! He wouldn't, would he?

Brenda pushed the concept to the back of her head as the brightness dimmed on the phone, leaving the blonde detective staring at nothing but a blank screen, Brenda decided that it would be best not to jump to unnecessary conclusions.

Hearing the heavy footsteps edging nearer, Brenda sat the phone back down onto its original spot, acting as though she was blissfully ignorant to its contents.

"I'm going to go and head on in" Fritz announced, dropping the post - which consisted of nothing more than bills - in front of Brenda, snatching up his phone before he grabbed his car keys and jacket. "What about your...?" Brenda began, pointing towards the boiling kettle, but the man was already gone.

Settling himself down into the driver seat of his car, Fritz had to admit that it truly was thrilling to keep a secret from Brenda.

His relationship with Sharon was one of the few things he didn't have to share with Brenda, one of the few things that belonged to him alone. Starting up the car, he turned the radio on for the first time in weeks, tapping his fingers onto the stirring wheel in time to the beat of the music.

Pulling into Starbucks, he found that her order was on the tip of his lips. "Grande Caramel Latte and a Grande Americano" He announced upon arriving at the counter of the busy coffee shop, filled with men and woman grabbing their morning coffee on their way to work, rushing to get to their respective offices on time. Placing his debit card into the machine, he glanced over to watch their drinks being made. While Brenda had a sweet tooth for chocolate and ice cream, Sharon preferred to have her sweet fix in the form of caramel in her morning coffee. It was just one of a countless number of differences between the two women.

They had two things in common though;

They both worked in the LAPD and both were in a relationship with him.

Even if one was an affair.

Taking the two coffees, Fritz took a quick glance at his watch and conclude that Sharon had no doubt already arrived at work by now. Placing the coffees in the holder at the front of the car, Fritz put his foot on the accelerator and pointed the car towards the LAPD building.

Thankfully, his presence around the Force Investigation Division was largely ignored and often went unnoticed by most - except Sharon's team. He was sure it hadn't taken them too long to put two and two together. It wouldn't take a genius to do so.

Arriving at the immaculately kept office, Fritz was surprised to see the empty tan leather chair. Sharon's handbag wasn't in its usual spot under her desk and her trench coat was absent from the hook beside the door.

"She's not here" Fritz turned around as he heard the voice of a woman coming up from behind him. "Where is she?" He asked, walking towards the detective's desk, knowing that her presence indicated that FID did not have a case, so Sharon must be somewhere in the building.

"Where do you think?" The blonde woman asked, raising an eyebrow as she threw him a knowing look. It didn't take a genius to work that out either.

"Major Crimes" Fritz muttered, wondering why he even had to ask anymore.

Sharon would _definitely_ need her coffee now.

* * *

Sharon looked up from her legal notepad as she heard the familiar footsteps echoing down the hallway. Fritz. Toying with the Parker pen in her hand, Sharon bit the inside of her lip to conceal the smile that was threatening to come to the surface.

She hadn't meant it to happen. Though she was glad it did.

"Good morning" He greeted, shutting the door behind him as he walked into the murder room, a coffee in each hand. If it wasn't for the possibility of any number of people - even more so Brenda - walking in on them, then Sharon would have kissed Fritz there and then.

"You're a life saver" She confessed, holding her hand out to take the hot beverage from him. Right now, caffeine was the only thing getting her through the horror of auditing the Major Crimes division and more specifically the wife of the man whom she having an affair with.

Sharon reached out to take the steaming hot beverage from the FBI agent. She was thankful for small mercies. "Thank you" She accepted the caffeine filled coffee with a gracious smile and a slight nod of her head. He always could tell when she was in need of a healthy dose of caffeine to get her through the day - especially if it involved her being around Major Crimes - more specifically Brenda.

"Your wife will be the death of me" Sharon muttered, drowning a strong sip of her coffee as she prepared herself for having to deal with the blonde haired woman. She was sure that she would hear Brenda's strong southern accent in her nightmares.

Speak of the devil and she'll appear.

Slamming the conference room door shut to make her presence known, Brenda's heel clicked against the floor as she walked towards the murder room. "Captain Raydor, if you could follow me" Brenda's tone could cut right through Sharon.

Heading down the hallway, Sharon adjusted her deep purple blazer before following the blonde haired woman down to the interview room. There were some days that Sharon wanted nothing more than to admit to Brenda that she was the reason her husband slipped just before dinner on 'a case' or that Fritz was tired of being the blonde woman's 'little play thing' and that he was no longer willing to play second fiddle to her job.

Perhaps Darth Raydor might have slipped up by now, but Sharon doubted that Fritz would have forgiven her for such a stunt. Revenge was best served ice cold.

* * *

The day just seemed to go from bad to worse. Was Brenda_ trying_ to get herself another lawsuit? Upsetting yet _another_ family and almost causing yet _another_ accident that would no doubt would have weighted heavy on the LAPD's annual legal expense.

Brenda could single handily fund most of the civil attorneys in LA at this rate.

As the black haired man returned later that evening, Sharon had never felt so relieved to see him. Leaving against the desk nearest the door, her arms were folded defensively in front of her chest.

Fritz knew that look all too well. Brenda had royally pissed Sharon off.

"Good evening" He announced, dropping himself down on the desk beside her, lifting up a case file from the desk to make it look as though he was doing something productive. Not liasoning with the apparent enemy.

Sharon allowed the corners of her lips to twitch up in a brief smile as she could feel Fritz's hand linger on the small of her back, as though willing her to continue through the day. After all, there was only so many sarcasm laced comments and death glares she could take from Provenza. It didn't help that Brenda seemed to have her head in the clouds for most of the day.

"We're going for dinner" Fritz announced, shutting the case file over, he could only take so much of Sharon's falling self-esteem and depressing mood. Brenda was almost always at the center of it, constantly trying the older woman who wanted to do nothing more than complete her audit and get Brenda's civil suit to go away.

Sharon opened her mouth to protest, where exactly could they go for dinner without the risk of someone seeing them? "LA's a big city, Sharon" Fritz reminded her, as though he had managed to read her thoughts. Was she really that easy to read?

Though if any of the LAPD officers saw either of them, the game would be up. She had been around FID long enough to make an army of enemies. Any of them would take great pleasure in spilling the beans on her affair. Brenda was well known and rather liked among her colleagues, and she doubted any of them would wait a second before informing her about her husband's affair.

"There's a jazz bar that I want to take you too" Fritz admitted, deciding that Sharon needed to relax, and nothing would do the trick better than jazz music, a stiff drink and a cosy dinner. "Okay, I'm ready to go when you are" Sharon said, putting her hands out in silent surrender, knowing she needed to do something to take her mind off the audit. "Just give me a second" He held his hand up for a moment before heading towards Brenda's office, his coat in hand as he stepped into the room without even knocking.

Brenda's head was buried in a mountain of paperwork, case folders and several empty pastel sweet wrappers. "I have a work dinner tonight, I'll probably be late. Don't wait up" He revealed, not waiting for Brenda's response as he threw on his jacket, adjusting it around his shoulders as he shut the door behind him. Brenda's eyes followed the man as he walked across the murder room, coming to stop beside a familiar red head who seemed to be attached to her blackberry.

Brenda could have swore she could see Fritz's hand on Sharon's back. Perhaps she was in need of her annual vision check? Squinting her eyes, Brenda was positive that her earlier assumption was true.

It dawned on her then.

S.R.

Sharon Raydor.

How had she been so stupid?

It all made sense now. Fritz had been all but running out the door each morning, the constant charges for two Starbucks on his debit card and the strong aroma of Chanel No.5 that seemed to linger on his skin. She knew it seemed familiar.

"_That woman!"_ Brenda hissed under her breath as she shook her head. Her husband was having an affair with Sharon Raydor of all people.

And Fritz had thought he could keep it a secret from her.

Some chance.


End file.
